Jealousy of Love
by hamtaro-craz
Summary: The rookie nine and Lee are planning something and their aim is to.......get Neji and Tenten together. Will it work and what fun things could happen? [NejixTentenxOC] Eventually NejiTen
1. Tell Us!

**A/N: **They are all about 16 -17 years old. These pairings are already together: Sasuke & Sakura, Naruto & Hinata and Shikamaru & Ino. Hinata's father doesn't know of her relationship with Naruto becuase Hiashi isn't very fond of Naruto.

**Chapter 1- Tell Us!**

The sun was shining down on the village of Konoha. It was a day like any other and two were found sparring ferociously with the sound of metal on metal, echoing throughout the forest.

One, a byakugan wielder and another, a weapon mistress. Beads of sweat were seen running down their faces, glistening in the sunlight.

The two continued to exchange blows until both could do no more. Leaving the forest floor, once again silent with the sounds of rapid intakes of air, only to be heard.

After a few minutes, Neji broke the silence, stating, "I believe that we are able to go for another round."

Tenten's face fell. The instant he had said that aloud, her body was already exhausted and sore all over covered in cuts, scars and many bruises.

Seeing her change of facial expressions, Neji spoke to her mockingly, "Unless you're too afraid to face someone like me, who you know you could never beat."

"You just wait, Hyuuga Neji! One day I'll beat you," Tenten shot back angrily.

"Hn," the prodigy responded, "You think so? Care to show me?"

Tenten didn't even bother to answer, as she sent three shurikens in his direction, but the Hyuuga dodged them with ease.

The two continued to train, but little did they know, today was anything but ordinary.

* * *

On another side of Konoha, the rookie 9 and Lee were seated inside Ichiraku, discussing something 'important'. 

"They really belong together, but they might never get together if no one helps them. I say it's our job as their friends to do that for them," Ino announced.

"But Ino-san…wouldn't we…be messing around with their…relationship," Hinata spoke up timidly.

"Ino, why do you even bother with this, it's too troublesome," a pineapple headed boy spoke up, lazily.

"A little, but come on you guys, look at those two. Both are still single. Many females have their eyes on Neji and I've seen lots of males, giving Tenten, the eye. Those two are far too close to be good friends," Ino stated to the group.

"Well, if you put it that way, it kind of makes sense with what you want to do," Kiba said then looking at his dog, who barked a few times, as if agreeing with it's owner.

Naruto and Chouji were hardly paying attention, both stuffing themselves with food. One filling himself with Ramen and another filling his mouth with chips.

"If ou ant too knw more abot them, just ass Le," Naruto spoke up but it was hard to make out what he had said since he had a mouthful of noodles in his mouth.

Everyone looked around at each other, wondering what Naruto had said. But no one seemed to want to ask because he would just cause more trouble. There was silence and the occasional sounds of slurping and munching of chips. Until someone took up the chance to ask, "Naruto, what did you say?"

Everyone turned to the source of the voice and their eyes widened at the sight. Of all the people that would have asked, it was Shino.

Naruto swallowed his last mouthful before turning to the others, "I said, if you want to know more about them, just ask fuzzy-eyebrows."

"NARUTO! DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT? YOU WEREN'T EVEN LISTENING!" Lee exclaimed.

"But Naruto does have a point, it is Lee of Hinata who knows most about them," Sakura spoke up after some thought about it, "Don't you think, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke merely nodded his head before returning to his usual self.

"If Sasuke agrees on that, Lee-san what can you tell us that we don't know yet?" Sakura asked eagerly.

"Um…they always train together…" Lee started.

"We know that already!" the group yelled.

Ino cracked her knuckles and asked not too friendly, "Lee is there something you know that we don't?"

"I can't tell. Tenten made me promise," Lee spoke, afraid of what Ino might do.

"We won't tell, trust us, we're you're friends," Sakura spoke up, evilly.

Even Sasuke seemed slightly interested as to what Lee had to say.

"But Sakura-san, a promise is a promise. I can't break a promise, it will ruin the springtime of my youth!" Lee yelled out.

"Sakura-san, Ino-san, since…Tenten-san has already made…Lee promise, maybe you should…stop asking him about it," Hinata stuttered but it was easy enough to understand.

"Hinata, you're right. We'll stop asking Lee, but you know something don't you? Something about your cousin that we haven't known," Ino spoke, grinning a little bit too 'friendly'.

"I…can't, Neji-ni-san will be mad…if he knew I told you," Hinata spoke back.

"Hinata, you will tell me what you know by the count of three or else I'll run over to your place and tell your father about the relationship you have with Naruto," Ino announced.

Hinata's eyes widened, and her facial expression lowered, everyone was waiting for her to say something. Even Naruto for once wasn't eating ramen and looking at Hinata with worried eyes. Akamaru and Kiba, who were usually loud, were sitting quietly waiting for an answer.

The Hyuuga heiress was on two sides, one- to keep Neji's secret or two- keep her relationship with Naruto. If she kept Neji's secret then her relationship with Naruto would be gone. But if she told them, she would be able to keep the relationship a little longer. _Which side to pick? _She was thinking over and over again. _If I tell them, would it be a help to Neji-ni-san and Tenten-san? I know Tenten-san has feelings for my cousin but does she really want them to happen? Maybe if I ask Lee-kun, it will be better. _

Moving towards Lee, she asked timidly, "Could…we…please talk outside?"

Lee being the gentleman he was, obliged and followed the stuttering Hyuuga heiress outside Ichiraku.

"Um…if we put together what we…know, maybe it will help us work out whether we should…tell the group or not," Hinata offered.

The boy in the green spandex thought for a moment, _Hinata is an honest person, she wouldn't lie, she is loyal and usually wants the best for everyone. _

"Yosh! Let's give it a go!" Lee exclaimed and offered to go first, "Tenten told me once, that she wished Neji would see her more than just a team-mate and friend."

Hinata took in the new information she had received, then bending forward she whispered a few words into Lee's ears, "My cousin told me that he found Tenten different from other girls and that he was somewhat fond of her."

When they had finished negotiating, they concluded that they might as well spill the beans, since Neji and Tenten just loved each other but were too afraid to confess.

Back inside Ichiraku, the group waited anxiously for something good to happen and when the two returned, they crowded around them (Well not Sasuke and Shino, but the others)

"Tenten likes N…eji and he likes her back…but neither know, if the other li…kes him or her," Hinata said softly but everyone still caught it clearly.

Ino and Sakura were jumping up with joy and ran over to the corner to discuss a few things. After a few minutes, they returned, both with a wide grim on their face.

"Now that, that is settled, the plan can go on, all I need is for you guys to join in," Ino announced. "Shikamaru, you will help me with this plan and no buts!"

"Sheesh, women are so troublesome,"

"Sasuke-kun, please," Sakura asked sweetly, flashing Sasuke a puppy-dog face that he has never been able to resist.

"Hn…fine," Sasuke muttered causing another series of joy to go by.

"Shino and I will help, it seems quite interesting," Kiba told the two girls.

Hinata and Lee were unsure whether they should be on this, but in the end they both did, since Naruto ended up convincing them.

"Great!" Ino yelled before continuing, "I had a plan in my mind but Sakura and I have decided to change it, we can get a little fun out of this, don't you think? Meet Sakura and me early tomorrow morning, at my home so we can have more privacy, for there, our plan will start and in the end it will definitely succeed."

With that all set, all they had to do was wait until tomorrow for their plan to be but on action. This whole thing was happening, yet it was unknown to two.

* * *

**A/N: **Hopefully you like this chapter! What is their plan going to be? Find out in the next chapter. Please review and i'll try to update as soon as possible. 


	2. The Plan

**A/N: **In this chapter an OC will be introduced and as the story goes on, he'll be quite an important character in this story. The OC is Ino's cousin and not many people know him since he isn't a ninja, just like a normal villager.

mystical shadow angel- It's fun to make you feel guilty but anyhow thanks for the review. Hurry up and post the next chapter!

Anime-Yasha- Thanks, please continue reading.

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvxy- I'll try my best.

Other readers/reviews- Thanks for reading and reviewing. Thanks again!

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**Chapter 2- The Plan**

Ino woke up in the early hours of the next day, she as already feeling excited, making her unable to sleep. She wasn't due to meet the others for another two hours, yet she just couldn't help it.

_Can't wait to see what happens, _Ino thought while hoping time would travel faster.

...ding...dong...

The doorbell rang, breaking Ino's thoughts; getting up, she walked over to the door wondering who could be there. Her parents had left earlier on, for some reason she couldn't remember. Opening the door, it revealed a cheerful, looking pink-headed kunoichi.

"Sakura, what are you doing here?" the blonde asked, slightly confused.

"Couldn't sleep, since something exciting is going to happen today, so I thought I'd come over to help begin some planning before the others arrive," Sakura replied, looking eager.

"Sure but come in first," Ino started, "I couldn't get any sleep either; might as well use the time."

Running to her room, Ino grabbed a few pieces of paper and some writing tools; bring them back to the living room, where Sakura was patiently waiting.

The two quickly set to work, exchanging a few comments, every so often before scribbling away. Time flew by rapidly and soon, the rest of the group started arriving, and the last one, was a certain ramen eater.

Gathered all in the Yamanaka living room, exchange of words were soon heard.

"After what Sakura and I discussed yesterday, plus this morning, we've come up with the best plan ever," Ino announced.

"YOSH! Let's do our best!" Lee exclaimed, making many cover their ears to stop the noise from breaking their eardrums.

"Let's hear it," Kiba spoke up after Lee's sudden, loud outburst had faded away.

Sakura did the honors and spoke with an evil glint in her emerald eyes, "Getting the two together are going to be fun but what is more thrilling is the things we can do. What could be more exciting than making Neji jealous?"

When the pink-headed girl had said the last word, many were a lost of words for a moment before turning around to face the two girls.

"Neji-ni-san…jealous," Hinata slightly muttered, fearing the thought of what could happen.

"How?" asked Sasuke who was fully paying attention, he would love to see the Hyuuga act differently to his normal self.

"All we need to do is get another boy and make Tenten like him," Ino replied, proudly.

Everyone thought about that for a while and the only sound to be heard was Chouji's continuous munching on chips, until Shino spoke up, "What would happen if she was to like the boy and leave Hyuuga?"

_Shino actually talks, _the group thought along the same lines.

Both Sakura and Ino hadn't really thought about that and had no idea how to answer Shino's question when suddenly, Shikamaru helped them out a little, "I doubt it, Tenten's heart would only be open for Neji and she has liked him for so many years, she wouldn't just let him go that fast."

**(A/N: **What did you expect, after all Shikamaru is super smart

All decided that Shikamaru's answer was enough to answer most their thoughts, but that wasn't the end, Naruto decided to throw in another question that was almost as hard to answer as before.

"Who's the boy? It can't be anyone from here or else Tenten will get suspicious."

"Um..."the two replied in unison, this time, even Shikamaru couldn't be of assistance.

At that awkward moment, the front door opened, revealing Ino's parents and a boy, slightly older than them but on addition, just as cool looking.

"Welcome back, mother father," Ino greeted her parents.

"Ino, why are there so many people in our living room?" her father asked, questioningly.

"Um...this...well we're having a meeting about something important," she replied, hoping the answer was enough to satisfy her father.

Luckily both her parents seemed convinced with the answer and left for the back of the house, leaving the older boy with Ino.

Ino sighed in relief before turning to the boy, "Kino, long time no see.'

The group looked from Ino to the boy called Kino with confusion painted on their faces. The blonde gave a small chuckle before introducing her cousin to everyone, "This here is my cousin, Yamanaka Kino. Kino that is Sakura, Sasuke, Hinata, Shikamaru, Chouji, Naruto, Kiba and his dog, Akamaru, Shino and Lee."

Every person gave a friendly greeting, except for Sasuke and Shino.

Kiba seeing Kino's confused look, spoke up, "Don't mind those two, they're just quiet people."

While Akamaru ran forward towards the new comer and started barking in a friendly way towards Kino, who played with the white dog for a couple of minutes.

Ino was about to take her seat back with the group when something came to here; whispering a few things to Kino and after a few seconds, he nodded.

Turning back to the group she dragged Kino over as well and with a smile, she announced, "Kino offered to take the job."

It took a while for them to adjust to what Ino meant about the 'job' when it hit them, they were all quite until Lee once again broke the silence with his usual loud sayings, "YOSH! Can we start now? My flames of youth are burning with energy!"

"Okay, first step-get Kino to meet Tenten at the place they train so Neji can see as well. In fact, we'll just get Kino to interrupt their training. That would make Neji even more mad," Ino spoke, telling them the first step of their plan, "Hinata and Shino, you two go with Kino and follow him up to the training grounds, stay with him so Neji won't get too suspicious as to why some random person came along. Sasuke and Sakura, you two follow those three but stay hidden. Help out if Neji looks as if he is about to attack Kino. Don't let Tenten or Neji see you. The rest will stay back to get some more things, set. Got that?"

Everyone was getting up to leave but was stopped by Sakura, "Wait! We're not finished, there's more."

When the pink-haired kunoichi believed she had gotten their attention, she continued, "The rest will stay here or go somewhere else to continue planning and we'll meet at my place at noon to discuss anything new."

With that done, everyone was soon out the door leaving the Yamanaka living room, once again, quiet. Hinata, Kino and Shino were heading for Team Gai's training ground followed by Sasuke and Sakura as their guards. While the rest headed out to another place to continue planning for their entertianment.

* * *

**A/N: **Another chapter up! Thanks for reading, please review. What will Neji be like when he sees Kino with Tenten? What other fun things are going to be happening? Find out in the next chapter. I'll try to update as soon as i can. 


	3. Kino Comes!

**A/N: **Just to let you know, Kino is the same age as Neji, Lee and Tenten. He graduated as a genin in Konoha but after an accident he couldn't be a ninja anymore. None of the ninjas remember him, because they were all young, except for Ino. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail of his past.

Ninja -x- Kunoichi, Gohan209, Nara Barb, Anime-Yasha, abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvxyz, MT Pocketts, A Crazy Girl of Many Names, Lil-Donkey, Mars Cutie- Thanks for the reviews. Hope you enjoy reading the this chapter.

**

* * *

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**Chapter 3- Kino Appears**

"Kino-kun…um…I was wondering…are you a ninja?" Hinata asked softly.  
Kino turned around to see the girl's face, red as a tomato, flushing from embarrassment. He chuckled a bit before replying, "Yeah, I graduated as a genin but after an accident, I wasn't cut out to be a ninja, anymore,"

Hinata's face dropped slightly before muttering, "Sorry."

Once again, it set Kino on a series of laughs, "Don't worry…Hinata. If I got that wrong, tell me. And your name is Shino."

Both shinobis nodded, then resuming to a quiet state. They still had a while to go before they reached their destination.

* * *

"Ne, Sasuke-kun, don't you think it will be fun?" a certain pink head asked. 

In return, the Uchiha nodded slightly but one could catch the small smile that made its way to his usual emotionless face.

"What are you smiling about?'

"Nothing much, let's keep quiet, we're almost there," Sasuke replied.

Sakura nodded and the pair continued to follow the threesome.

* * *

Tenten took out two scrolls and placed them in front of her, parallel to each other. Then performing a series of hand seals before calking out, "Soushouryuu" (Rising Twin Dragon. **A/N: **Did I spell it right?) 

She sent weapon after weapon, down upon the Hyuuga prodigy, who deflected them with his 'Kaiten'. By the end of that, a large crater was left on the earth with various weapons, scattered around it.

Landing gracefully, Tenten surveyed the scene in front of her, only to notice Neji was no where in sight.

_Huh? Where did Neji go? Is he planning to make me lose my guard? Too bad for him, I'm not that easy to defeat! _She thought when a sudden voice broke out, scaring her. Turning around to, she found herself only a few millimeters from the Hyuuga's face. The weapon expert blushed slightly, at their closeness.

"Neji! Don't do that again! You scared me," she shouted to him, after moving away but only to receive a smirk from him.

"Ninja's always have to be on their guard. Just dropping it for a short time, could cause enough problems," Neji replied, _Was she blushing? It can't be, Tenten does blush, right?_

"Damn you, Neji!" Tenten shot back.

"Hn...let's start again."

The two were about start another sparring match when three people stepped into view. It was Hinata, Shino and some another person.

_I wonder what Hinata and Shino are doing here? And that person with them looks kind of cute in a way. _Tenten thought while Neji had rather opposite thoughts, _who the hell is that? And what is he doing here? _

Hinata greeted the two, softly, "Tenten-san, Neji-ni-san."

Both turning to the Hyuuga heiress, Neji greeted his cousin formally, "Hinata-sama."

While Tenten put her arm up, slightly, just indicating she had heard and returning the greeting.

_So Neji is Hinata's brother, how interesting and he is the guy I have to make jealous. Easy enough and the female over there, must be Tenten since Hinata already called her name. I'm clearly surprised she hasn't got a boyfriend. I wouldn't mind taking her but when Ino says something needs to get done, it gets done. _'sigh'Kino was thinking before walking forward to introduce himself to Tenten.

"You must be Tenten, we haven't met before so allow me to introduce myself. My name is Yamanaka Kino, cousin of Yamanaka Ino. It is a pleasure to meet someone with such skill in handling weapons."

"Um…nice to meet you, Kino but how do you know my name and how do you know about my skill?" she asked nervously.

Neji's right eye, was twitching so slightly and his hands were clenched but Sasuke saw it clearly and he motioned for Sakura to look, who nodded, happy with the new piece of information.

"Oh, I saw you using that skill just then, so I guessed that was more of your strength and well…Hinata told me your name," he replied, even though he knew it would be almost impossible for her to believe that.

"Hinata!" Tenten called to the Hyuuga heiress who came over to her cousin's team-mate and was about to ask something but changed her mind. Instead she took Hinata aside and asked her softly, "Were you the one who told Kino my name? And is he really Ino's cousin, for all we know, he could be a ninja from another village."

The truth was that Kino's found out Tenten's name during the meeting they had an hour before. I wasn't her who told Kino her name but to save their plan from being ruined, she nodded and muttered an apology.

After some minutes, Tenten finally convinced herself that Hinata was telling to truth and turned back to Kino who was looking around the place. The two were soon in deep conversation which annoyed the prodigy to the most. It was after fifteen minutes when Neji became fully annoyed with the fact and headed over to the pair.

"Finished talking?" Neji asked, hinting a lot of annoyance in his voice.

"Tenten, who's this?" Kino asked, even though he knew.

Before Tenten could answer, Neji butted in, "Her team-mate, Hyuuga Neji."

"Oh! Hello, my name is-," Kino started but was cut of by the branch member.

"Yamanaka Kino...I heard before," Neji finished for him before turning to his sparring partner while ignoring the pissed look on Kino's face.

"Yeah, ju-," Tenten started and this time the person who interrupted was Kino.

"Do you have any manner! Never interrupt someone when they haven't finished talking. Do you know how rude it is, to finish off a sentence for someone else without them wanting you to. Just the, I was introducing myself to you when you most rudely finished it off for me!" Kino practically shouted at the prodigy.

_How funny, _Tenten thought while a small smile crept its way onto her face.

Neji just smirked at the sudden outburst then replying, "Well if you think I'm rude, then what about yourself? You just interrupted Tenten and I believe you're the one with fewer manners."

Under his breath Neji muttered a few words along the lines of 'this stupid person, such an idiot' but it was loud enough for both Tenten and Kino to hear.

Kino had just about had it, with the arrogant Hyuuga but luckily Tenten got to Neji first, "Neji! Don't be so rude."

The Hyuuga turned to face her only to turn back and give the new comer a glare before leaving. With his back turned to them, he called back, "I'm cutting training short today since 'someone' has interrupted it. Tomorrow morning, an hour early."

"Who does he think he is? Bossing you around like that?" Kino spoke with absolute disgust in his voice, while looking at the retreating form of the Hyuuga.

"That's Neji's way, don't mind him, he's always like that," Tenten replied.

"You can put up with that?"

"Most of the time."

"Um…Kino-kun, I th…think we have to go," Hinata spoke up.

Turning around to face the Hyuuga, Kino nodded while flashing her, a smile, causing the heiress to blush.

Kino turned back to Tenten, saying, before bidding her farewell, "Sorry if we didn't get to know each other better, but it seems like I have to go somewhere. So I guess I'll see you around Konoha, another time.

The weapon mistress nodded then heading off in her own direction, after seeing the three take leave.

* * *

Neji was taking his time, returning to the Hyuuga Compound; his head was clouded with thoughts, mainly of what had happened during his latest sparring session. 

Yet all over, he felt somewhat strange; it was an odd feeling that he hadn't felt before, a small feeling of jealousy.

_Jealous! Why would I be jealous? Jealous of Kino? No way! Tenten seems to have taken a liking to him. But why do I care, it's not like she's that important to me. Let's hope I don't have to see him again or else the first thing I would do, would be to beat him to a bloody pulp._

As much as he tried denying the fact, he had indeed fallen for his female team-mate, but he of all people, didn't deserve her. He was a branch member and he didn't want the fate of branch members, bestowed upon her.

He loved her too much to let any harm go her way. Yet Kino was someone who didn't seem capable of being the person who could protect her.

His journey home took loner than usual since his head filled itself with so many thoughts.

After meeting up with Kino, our favorite branch member, was indeed feeling slightly jealousy.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm sorry i took so long to update, but i've finally got it done. Neji's a bit OOC but who knows, when ones jealous they can do some strange things. Hope you all liked this chapter. Thanks for reading and please review. 


	4. The Juice

**Chapter 4 - The Juice**

As the threesome (Hinata, Shino and Kino) took their leave from the training grounds, Kino had a small but clearly evil smile. One that could send shivers up the spine of people. Yet he concealed it cleverly, so neither of his two companions noticed.

On another side of Konoha, Ino and her group of 'helpers' were making their way through the village of Konoha whilst moving towards Sakura's home.

When both groups arrived, they were later joined by Sasuke and Sakura. Once inside, everyone tried to grab something comfortable, as they knew that they would be there for a long time. As soon as everyone was happy with their sitting positions/areas, exchanging of information started about.

"Ino...did you come up with anything else?" Sakura asked, tilting her head to a side.

"Of course i did, why wouldn't i have? With such enthusiastic helpers," Ino replied with a clearly noticable sense of sarcasim in her voice.

It took a while for the group to adjust to what she meant, but after taking a look at their surroundings, they only had to guess. With Shikamaru sleeping, Chouji munching, Naruto yawning and Kiba playing with his dog, what else could they have expected.

To break the awkward silence, Kino spoke up,"Lets hear what you guys came up with."

"Well even though those people didn't bother to help, i did a few things...this and that till something brilliant came to me. Sakura, you'll love what you're going to hear," Ino replied while one could see the small animated stars shining in her eyes.

"Well...?" Sakura asked, starting to get impatient since Ino was starting to get off the topic.

"We decided on a Valentine's Day Dance," a bored, no energy voice replied for her. Belonging to none other than Shikamaru.

"Why a dance?" Kino asked.

"Don't ask me...its got to be a girl thing."

"Yeah it is...something that guys like you wouldn't understand," Ino spoke up, who had finished daydreaming, "oi Hinata, Sakura, could the two of you come with me, somewhere private. Need to have a small girl talk."

As the two girls rose and headed to an un-interupted area, Kino had a few thoughts runnign through his head. Somewhere along the lines of Tenten, jealous Neji and dance. (**AN: **You'll have to wait to found out what he is thinking. Coming in the later chapters )

"Why do i have to make Hinata's brother jealous?" Kino asked, remembering his throughts from a few hours ago.

"Hinata's brother? Neji? You've got that wrong. Neji is Hinata's cousin," Kiba replied.

"Cousin, but then why does she call him nii-san?"

"Family traditions," Shino answered, giving him a consise response.

Slience remained in the room after Kino got his questions answered. That was until SCREAM. Everyone turned there heads to the source of the sound, to which they all knew its origin.

"SAKURA-SAN, ARE YOU OKAY?" Lee ran forward to find the pink headed kunoichi but before he could do so, his eyes caught sight of a blur and bright red eyes. _Sasuke-kun isn't willing to give up on Sakura-san yet. One day for sure, i'll win her heart._

"Stay away from _my girl_," Sasuke whispered threateningly to Lee.

With a heavy heart, Lee sat back down just as the three girls walked back in. Sasuke returned back to his usual self and everyone else, pretended as if nothing was happening.

"Alright everyone, time to get together our next steps," Sakura announced. (If you were wondering before, sakura was the one screaming before. More like one of happiness, too much happiness.)

"This...might be harder than before," Hinata spoke, with little less stuttering in her voice.

"First of all, we're going to need Naruto, Kino and Hinata. Tomorrow morning Naruto when Tenten comes out of her apartment, make sure you run into her while holding some sort of liquid. She'll have to clean herself up, making her late for training with Neji. Understood, Naruto?" Ino asked.

"Of course i understand. How can i, Uzumaki Naruto, the future hokage not understand something so simple?" naruto shot back, "But why do i need some liquid? Can't i just use a bowl of ramen soup?"

Everyone slaps forehead and/or sighs

"Naruto-kun, you can't take ramen, unless you're trying to burn Tenten-san becuase the soup would be really hot," Hinata answered, saving the others the trouble from doing so,

"Che..." was the annoyed reply she got in return.

"I see why you need Naruto, becuase his clumsiness is just perfect for that job, but what does that have to do with Hinata and me?" Kino asked his cousin.

"HOW DARE YOU CALL ME CLUMSY, YOU HAVE NO-"

"Shut up Naruto." Ino interjected. "Hinata will be watching from afar, just incase it doesn't work. She can do the same thing. Sy all chances, she will indeed end up late. This is where you come in; come in from the other direction and try to catch up to her. You might want to add that you've been looking for her for ages. Keep her occupied as long as you can."

"Also you might want to walk with her to the training grounds, that way we could make Neji even more jealous," Sakura added.

"Is that all?" Sasuke asked, beginning to lose some interest in this 'great' idea Ino believed it to be.

"...N-no..."

"Well what's the rest then?"

"Umo...we were planning to get the Hokage to allow the dance to be held at the end of this month, on Valentine's Day," the Hyuuga heiress answered back.

Kiba who was planning with Akamaru, looked up when Hinata said that, replying, "Why bother asking the Hokage?"

"That way," Sakura answered, "It can be something more formal."

"Why does it have to be formal thought?"

"You'll understand that when time comes closer," replied the pink-headed kunoichi.

"So is that all?" Shino spoke up and since it had been a while since he last did so, a few seconds of silence surrounding the room before Sakura answered.

"Yeah, pretty much."

As the group began to gether at the door, they soon realised how late it was. Darkness filled the streets and true enough, the streets were isolated.

"Hinata-chan, i'll walk you home, ne?" a happy Naruto chirped up.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun..."

Bids of farewells were soon heard and one by one, Sakura's home too, became a desolated place.

--------

_The Next Day_

...Ring...ring...ring...

"Just five more minutes," a soft voice grumbled out.

_20 minutes later_

"Arghh! is it already this later!" Tenten shouted to no one in particular. "Neji's going to kill me."

After yesterday's tiring training session with Neji, her body was exhausted and it was still. Unfortunately for her though, Neji wasn't the type to accept excuses. With quick strides around the house and grabbing an apple along the way; in a few minutes, the bun headed girl was out of the apartment, setting off at a rapid pace towards the training grounds.

In her haste, she became oblivious to her surroundings to which she paid her price for, when out of a sudden, she found herself colliding with something blonde and wet.

"Argh," a very fustrated Tenten yeeled out. "What is this!"

Just when the weapon mistress asked, Naruto got himself up, off the ground, opening his mouth ready to apologise.

"Ahh, sorry Tenten, i wasn't watching where i was going. Its juice. Really sorry."

"Don't worry about it Naruto. Anyhow see you around some other time." the weapon mistress replied then leaving in a flash, befor ehte blonde could say anything else in response.

_Back in Tenten's Apartment_

"Neji is to so kill me. I'm half an hour late. I've never been this late."

And with a quick change of clothes, she once again, raced out the door, trying to get to the training grounds. Getting fustrated in the morning really wasn't her thing, as she never noticed her breakfast rooling away down the streets of Konoha.

_The training grounds_

A certain Hyuuga memeber had his back against a tree, meditating. One to keep himself calm and another to keep himself occupied while waiting for his training partner.

_She's late, _was his only thought, though not a happy one. _I'll just double training. _

-------

_Almost there, phew, i can't believe i got here so fast, _the weapon mistress thought to herself. That was until she turned to her left and saw Kino walking towards her.

"Hey Tenten, i've been trying to find you for ages," the Yamanaka quoted up.

"Oh...h-hey Kino. Um...look i'm kinda in a rush, can we talk later?" Tenten asked nervously.

"Yea sure, why don't i walk you there?" Kino added.

"Great i don't mind. Let's go."

Just as they were entering the grounds, Tenten couldn't help but feel a very dangerous aura coming from a certain Hyuuga pordigy. Kino on the other hand, took no notice and pretended as if he didn't know.

But little did Tenten know that his anger wasn't due to her being late, but rather, something else.

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**AN: **I know it took me a real long time. But i finally got this done. I'm not sure when the next one will be coming along, but hopefully not too long. Anyhow, hope you all enjoyed this and please review.

Oh and for some reason i can't add those lines in, so thats why i used dashes for the scene changes. sorry about that. Hope it didn't confuse anyone.

Thank you to all those who reviewed for previous chapters.


	5. Announcement

**A/N:** so sorry i haven't been able to update in such a long time. But i happy that i was able to finish off this chapter. I don't know when the next one will be coming along. Hopefully soon, but judging fromt the way i am, i wouldn't take that too seriously.

Thank you for those who have reviewed in the last chapters.

Now, on with the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 5 **

_Hokage's office_

"So let me get this straight. You want me to announce a Valentine's Day dance to the whole of Konoha. Why again?" the fifth Hokage looked up over her growing pile of paperwork at Sakura and Ino

"It's a time of celebration, Hokage-sama," Sakura answered nervously.

"Not buying it, Sakura. Give me a better reason. You do know, if it becomes a whole village event, we may be ambushed as other villages may think we have lowered our guard," the fifth replied while signing paperwork, not even bothering to lift her head up. "I'm not stupid Sakura. Tell me the real reason."

The pink haired girl looked around nervously and then towards Ino who gave a little nod, "It's for Neji and Tenten."

"Neji and Tenten?" the Hokage repeated in surprise and looked up.

"Um…..it's to help them get together, Hokage-sama," Ino speaking up for the first time since they had entered the room.

"To get them together……why is that?"

"Well you see Hokage-sama, I just feel sorry for them not being with each other when they both obviously like each other," Ino replied.

The fifth rested her head on her hands and thought for a moment. While she was in thought, the two girls both exchanged hopeful grins.

"SAKURA! INO!"

The two girls jumped out of their skins with the sudden outburst but answered her as quickly as possible, "HAI!!!"

"Count me in. I'm not doing anymore of this rubbish," the fifth replied with a cheeky smile, indicating towards the paperwork and at the very moment, Shizune just happened to walk past by.

"Tsunade-sama?! You can't do that. It is your duty as the Hokage to keep the village under control and in order."

"Ah, don't worry Shizune. Its only going to be a few weeks, I'm sure you can handle that while I'm on break," Tsunade replied at her angered assistant.

"On break? Three weeks?! What are you going to do in that time?!"

"I've found something to interest me a few weeks. Oh Shizune, can you put up a notice that I have something important to announce to everyone in the village tomorrow afternoon at 3" she replied, "Well then, I'll be off. Thank you, Shizune!"

With that, the fifth sprinted out of the office dragging Sakura and Ino with her; leaving a very confused and angered Shizune behind.

* * *

_At the training grounds_

As Tenten and Kino walked into the training grounds, Neji could not help and give off a dangerously, angry aura. Tenten being late was something he could accept, after all her punishment would just be double training hours. However, Tenten being late with Kino was something he would not allow. He stayed in his spot and just angrily glared at them, well, it was many directed at Kino as they walked closer.

When Tenten saw Neji she yelled out an apology for her lateness and being the person he was, he just acknowledged it with his usual, "Hn".

_I hope Neji's not too mad that I'm late, but considering the time he waited, I'll count myself lucky if he just doubles training, _Tenten thought to herself and forgetting about Kino's presence, she walked in quick strides towards Neji.

"Let's begin," she said and was getting ready in her fighting stance when she remembered about Kino.

Looking over to Kino she spoke up, "Thanks Kino for walking me here. Let's talk later, after training,"

"You want me to pick you up after training. How long will it go for? I'll take you out for lunch or dinner," Kino replied, taking no notice of the glare from the Hyuuga.

"Don't worry about that Kino. You don't need to after all I think I'll be here for a while. Why don't we talk next time we meet up," Tenten suggested, already registering to Neji's impatience and anger.

Kino replied and bided her farewell, "Oh, okay then. Bye Tenten," then turning to Neji he spoke in a monotonous voice, "Hyuuga." With that, he turned to leave but Neji noticed the small smirk he gave him.

"So where we?" Tenten asked the cold Hyuuga. "Right, let's get started."

The weapon mistress and the byakugan user both got into their fighting stances and a second later they were only seen as blurs.

Despite the Hyuuga's ability in sparing matches, today he found it somewhat harder to dodge Tenten's attacks. He wasn't fully focused and there was just something itching in the back of his mind.

_True, I may be a bit annoyed and jealous--, NO! Not jealous. Just, Just……what am I feeling?_ Neji thought as he barely managed to dodge a kunai.

"Neji!" Tenten's outburst broke his train of thoughts and lowered his head slightly as a fuma Shuriken flew past at rapid speed. Tenten ran up to him and shouted furiously at him, "What's wrong with you today?! You almost had your head chopped off if I hadn't called out to you at the last second!"

Neji, being quite taken aback by her sudden outburst, merely kept quite and once again let his mind wonder off.

_Damn that Kino! There's something about him that doesn't feel right. Something about him is strange, _Neji thought again.

"NEJI!" once again, the Hyuuga had his train of thoughts broken and only to discover Tenten a mere 2 centimetres away from his face, causing the Hyuuga prodigy to lose his balance pulling Tenten along with him, landing directly on top of her in a very awkward situation.

Tenten blushed a least ten shades of red while Neji had a tint of pink on his pale cheeks. After a few more seconds of silence, Neji quickly got up and muttered an apology at the same time helping her up.

"Maybe Neji, you should take the day off. Something's bothering you. I'm willing to listen," Tenten offered.

"No, don't worry. Let's just get back to training," was the Hyuuga's prompt reply.

Knowing there was no use in changing his mind; the weapon mistress got back in her fighting pose and started the attack.

* * *

_The Next Day (afternoon)_

Every villager was standing somewhere where they could see and hear the Hokage give her announcement. All were interested in what she had to say for it was not usual to make an announcement to everyone of the village.

"There is something very special planned at the end of this month, on Valentine's Day. There will be a dance held on the night and all are welcomed. It is a formal dance and I expect many to attend. However it is a must for all the ninjas of Konoha. It will be a time of celebration and a time of honor,' the Hokage announced. "Anyone ninja found not attending will be severely punished!"

_So much for not attending, _Neji thought.

"As it is a formal dance, I expect many to come with partners. This will be organized by two special people who will be announced on the night and be given special gratitude for their hard work. Don't worry; you have a full, three weeks before the dance. Plenty of time to prepare yourselves," the fifth continued on. "Let it be a night to remember!"

With the last thing said, many took their leave and just when our Hyuuga Prodigy was about to walk back the Hyuuga compound, he heard a distant shout, "Neji-Kun!!!!! Come with me to the dance!"

Without a second to waste, he speed away not daring to look back as a mob of fan girls were after him. _What a harsh three weeks it is going to be, _he thought remorsefully to himself.

While Neji was running away, hoping to lose the mob of girls. Tenten was deep in thought; hoping that Neji would ask her, but with his personality, it was highly unlikely.

Kino, standing a few metres away from the bun-headed girl once again smiled. Yet his smiles were always never true in meaning.

* * *

**A/N: **Well, what's going to happen next? Find out in the next chapter. Thanks for reading and please review. 

Till next time.


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